By Ernio Hernandez
03 Nov 2009

Orpheus X creator-star Rinde Eckert
photo by T. Charles Erickson

Theatre for a New Audience will present the New York premiere of Rinde Eckert's Orpheus X at The Duke on 42nd Street. Further details have been revealed.

The Off-Broadway company has announced an opening night of Dec. 3 for the work scheduled to run Dec. 2-20. Robert Woodruff directs the 2007 Pulitzer Prize finalist.

The music-theatre piece features original music and text from Eckert (And God Created Whales) and video by Denise Marika. It was originally produced in 2006 at Cambridge, Massachusetts' American Repertory Theatre, where Woodruff served as artistic director.

Drawing from such sources as Sixth Century Greek poet Ibyous and the Roman poets Virgil and Ovid, Eckert and Woodruff (Edward Bond's Chair) reinvent this ancient myth for our time. "Orpheus is a rock star who plays electric guitar, not the lyre," according to show notes.

Eckert will appear in the work with Suzan Hanson and John Kelly along with a live band featuring Timothy Feeney (percussion), Virginia Leishman (piano), Blake Newman (bass) and Wendy Richman (viola).

The design team includes David Zinn and Denise Marika (scenic), David Zinn (costumes), Christopher Akerlind (lighting), David Remedios (sound) and Denise Marika (video).

TFANA's season will continue with William Shakespeare's Measure for Measure (Feb. 6-March 14, 2010) and Love Is My Sin (March 27-April 17, 2010).

Tickets to Orpheus X at The Duke, 229 West 42nd Street, are currently available via subscription by phone at (212) 229-2819, ext. 10. For more on TFANA, visit tfana.org.

Suzan Hanson and John Kelly in Orpheus X at American Repertory Theatre
photo by T. Charles Erickson